Economy & Finance

More than 64,000 Companies, 785,000 Workers Registered for ‘Medellin Me Cuida’ Economic Restart

Medellin Herald May 4, 2020

The Medellin Mayor’s Office revealed May 4 that to date, 64,366 companies have registered under the pioneering “Medellin Me Cuida” economic restart program for manufacturing and construction sectors here. According to the Mayor, of those 64,366 companies, 54,810 have presented evidence of

Companies

Fabricato 1Q 2020 Net Loss Declines Year-on-Year; Coronavirus Slams Sales

Medellin Herald May 1, 2020

Medellin-based textile giant Fabricato revealed in a May 1 filing with Colombia’s Superfinanciera oversight agency that its first quarter (1Q) 2020 net loss totaled COP$8.97 billion (US$2.26 million) — a 33% improvement over the COP$13.3 billion (US$3.35 million) net loss in 1Q 2019. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) soared by

Companies

Coronavirus Crisis Temporarily Hurts Cemex LatAm; Colombia Rebound Starts on Highway Demand

Medellin Herald April 30, 2020

Colombia-based Cemex LatAm Holdings (CLH) on April 30 posted a corporate-wide US$30 million net loss for first quarter (1Q) 2020 — down from a 1Q 2019 net profit of US$16 million as the Coronavirus crisis slashed demand for cement and concrete. In Colombia, cement demand looked relatively strong in January and February — but then […]

Companies

Hidroituango Hydroelectric Project Repairs 65% Complete at 2-Year Anniversary of Tunnel Collapse

Medellin Herald April 26, 2020

Medellin-based electric power giant EPM announced April 25 that the US$5 billion, 2.4-gigawatt “Hidroituango” hydroelectric power project in Antioquia – one of the world’s biggest — continues to make progress following a destructive bypass tunnel collapse two years ago. That collapse and subsequent damage to the machine room and related facilities caused a three-year

Companies

Hidroituango Hydroelectric Project Repairs 65% Complete at 2-Year Anniversary of Tunnel Collapse

Medellin Herald April 26, 2020

Medellin-based electric power giant EPM announced April 25 that the US$5 billion, 2.4-gigawatt “Hidroituango” hydroelectric power project in Antioquia – one of the world’s biggest — continues to make progress following a destructive bypass tunnel collapse two years ago. That collapse and subsequent damage to the machine room and related facilities caused a three-year

Companies

Nutresa 1Q 2020 Profits Rise 9% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald April 25, 2020

While most Colombia-based companies are getting clobbered by the Coronavirus crisis, companies making and selling groceries and prepared foods through stores to date are doing relatively well. Example: Medellin-based multinational foods giant Grupo Nutresa on April 24 reported a COP$190 billion (US$47 million) consolidated net profit for first quarter (1Q) 2020, up 9.1%

Economy & Finance

Medellin & Antioquia Sales Crashing; Business Liquidity Vanishing; 130,000 Jobs Lost Here in Coronavirus Crisis

Medellin Herald April 24, 2020

The Medellin Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia (CCMA) just revealed a new study indicating that the Coronavirus quarantine costs the local economy here at least COP$170 billion (US$42 million) every day — and 95% of businesses have seen sales drop anywhere from 80% 100% during the crisis. As a result, Antioquia regional gross domestic product (“PIB” in […]

Companies

AngloGold’s ‘Quebradona’ Mine Project in Antioquia Resumes Preliminary Works with Strict Health Protocols; Environmental Licensing Process Continues

Medellin Herald April 23, 2020

AngloGold Ashanti Colombia announced April 23 that its proposed “Quebradona” copper-gold mine project near Jerico, Antioquia soon will get a second information-gathering visit from Colombia’s Agencia Nacional de Licencias Ambientales (ANLA, the environmental permitting agency). Commenting on the news, company president Felipe Marquez added that the upcoming site visit “is

Economy & Finance

Antioquia, Colombia Cut-Flower Exporters See Mother’s-Day Rebound Despite Crisis

Medellin Herald April 18, 2020

The east-of-Medellin “Oriente” region — second only to Cundinamarca in Colombia’s gigantic cut-flower export industry – aims for a sales rebound for the upcoming May 10 annual “Mother’s Day” demand surge typically seen in North America, Europe and parts of Asia. As noted in an April 14 bulletin from Asocolflores (the national flower-producers’ trade association),

Colombian economy

IMF: Global GDP to Contract in 2020, Rebound in 2021; Colombia Doing Better than Most

Medellin Herald April 15, 2020

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 14 issued an updated forecast concluding that the Coronavirus crisis likely will slash 2020 global gross domestic product (“PIB” in Spanish initials) to a net-negative 3% — compared to 2.9% net-positive PIB growth in 2019. Colombia likewise probably will suffer a net-negative 2.4% PIB in 2020, IMF’s report […]